I wouldn’t have been a personal friend of Paddy Mulvey’s as he was from a different generation to me, but he was a man that I knew from my earliest days in Roscommon GAA, whether it was at underage matches and then later, at meetings and matches and anything else that was going on. He was an incredible club man. Yes he loved his county and he was a great Roscommon man, but he was happiest when he was in Croghan or around the county with Shannon Gaels teams, underage or senior, or at a Scor event.
He was the most passionate GAA man I ever met at a club game. During the summer when the day was fine I always remember Paddy would hang his suit jacket on a fence post close to the side line and he would parade up and down the line encouraging the players and ‘advising’ the referee. When the game was over it was over, and Paddy would always be gracious in defeat. It was always on to the next meeting, the next match, the next Scor event.
If you wanted to know the meaning of the term “life-long GAA man” it was probably invented with Paddy Mulvey in mind. He was a club man through and through. He was about as far away from the SKY TV deal and from the corporate GAA as one could get. He gave his life to the GAA and never got one thing in return, and he didn’t want anything either.
Paddy Mulvey was a grass roots man and one of the greatest that the association has ever had. I am so glad that his efforts were recognised when he got a Presidents’ award a few years ago. It is people like Paddy Mulvey that has made the GAA the organisation it is today. The crowds at his removal and funeral showed just how much people respected and liked Paddy Mulvey. It was a pleasure to have known him. To his family I extend my deepest sympathy. They certainly don’t make them like Paddy Mulvey anymore. A dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.
Roscommon People Atricle